The UPBEAT trial: can improving the lifestyle of obese pregnant women reduce the risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease in the child?

Effect of a complex lifestyle intervention in pregnant obese women on childhood cardiovascular function

We know that maintaining a healthy weight increases the chances of a healthy pregnancy. However, obesity in pregnancy is common in recent years and can have health consequences for both mothers and babies, including conditions like gestational diabetes. Professor Lucilla Poston and colleagues are carrying out the UPBEAT clinical trial, to test if improving the lifestyle of obese pregnant women (using healthy diet and physical activity) reduces the risk of obesity in the child. They have now been awarded a three year grant to find out if 100 three to four year old children whose obese mothers have a healthy lifestyle in this trial have healthier hearts and blood vessels than those whose mothers were receiving normal pregnancy care. They will also study the health of the children’s hearts at birth using state-of-the-art MRI in UPBEAT newborns. This study will reveal whether children born to obese mothers have a higher risk of heart disease and if this risk is reduced by a healthier lifestyle in pregnancy. It may lead to new strategies to improve the future heart health of children.